A truly beautiful morning for a run. It was clear and very cold, especially with the strong winds coming off the Sound, but it was otherwise almost perfect.
This run was a tale of two halves. Heading out, I felt great. Really great. I was keeping my form really well and got up to a steady 9 minute mile pace. That's right, a 9 minute mile average pace. Once I got past the area with the strongest headwinds, I cruised. I made it all the way to the south end of Alki where there was a water stop. I stopped, got a drink and did a little stretching. I turned around and headed back.
A minute or so into the return leg, my right knee started to seize up. It seriously went from feeling fine to me not being able to put any weight on it at all. I stopped and stretched out more. I started walking slowly and then with a little more speed until I was able to start jogging again. I got a ways before the knee gave out again. Stop, stretch, walk, jog. Stop, stretch, walk, jog. Repeat for the next 3.5 miles.
Nadine, one of the coaches, met me near the last part of the route and talked to me awhile about my IT band. I told her I was doing my stretches, using the foam roller and ice packs. She told me to keep with it and to focus on my upper hip/lower glute (the upper right ass cheek). She also told me that when I'm feeling great is when I need to slow down and take it easy the most. Feeling great means you tend to go faster than you should or are ready to go and more likely to injury yourself. Me, case in point.
So, I'm back to nursing my knee and taking it very easy with my runs.
Before the run started, Sandy, our team captain, handed out purple ribbons for everyone to wear in honor of Marcus Smith. Marcus is the brother of someone close to Sandy and the TNT family, and he recently went out of remission with his cancer.
We also got to hear about Dylan in our Mission Moment. When he was 13 months old, he was diagnosed at the St. Jude Children's Hospital with AML in both his kidneys. It was a rare form of cancer that the doctors there had not seen before, so they decided to go after it with an adult dose of medicine. The insurance company decided that their approach was "experimental" and refused to pay for the treatment or any further treatments that Dylan received. His hospital costs were paid through donations and the help of a lot of people. He is now 3.5 years old and in remission. Just another reminder that every little bit helps and there are people out there who have great need.
After the run, a group of us went for some breakfast at Endolyne Joe's. It was nice to relax over some great food — I highly recommend the corned beef hash — and get to know my fellow team members a bit better.
Run stats: 1:08:20 min. | 7.80 miles | 8:42/mile average pace*
*Pace not correct for last part of run since I walked a good piece of it.
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